Dragon’s Secret: Red Planet Dragons of Tajss Book Fourteen

by Martin, Miranda

  I scream, but I keep the stick pressed up against its mouth as its body covers me, caging me in with its legs.

  Come on! The stick finally ignites with a bright blue flash, all of that burning electricity hitting the creature at once.

  It freezes on top of me. Is it working? It begins to jerk and convulse. I scramble backwards, out from under it, keeping the stick up against its face. It continues to jerk, smoke coming out from its body as it is electrocuted. I smell burning hair. Ewwww. And then it falls to the ground.

  I take three quick steps back out of range as soon as it does. I'm breathing hard, my gaze fixed on the creature.

  It jerks on the ground, attempting to regain its feet. It isn't dead, just stunned.

  Should I step closer? Try to shock it again? Or will I just be putting myself in more danger if I do that?

  I risk a glance over at Archion, only to find him surrounded by three carcasses. His lochaber swings and lops off three of the still-standing creature's legs. It falls to the ground, attempting to scramble away now. Archion puts it out of its misery with one swift stab to the head.

  Not waiting to make sure it is indeed dead, he turns towards me and leaps across the cavern.

  The one I stunned is still attempting to get up when Archion stabs it in the back of the head too, the crunch of the blow nauseating.

  I stare down at the now-still creature, my mouth agape in shock. I swallow, slowly lowering the electro-stick. He's handled the whole group of them with an efficiency that's truly humbling.

  "Are you hurt?"

  I tear my gaze away from the dead creature in front of me and look up to Archion's face. He scans me intently before meeting my eyes.

  "Nora—are you hurt?" he asks again.

  I shake my head dumbly.

  He nods sharply, turning to look back over at the cave entrance. Bodies litter the area directly outside and inside. A large pile of meat directly in front of our sanctuary. Like a warning to any other beasts that would even consider breaching the safe space Archion has found for us.

  I shiver, hugging myself.

  14

  Nora

  Archion spends time dragging the carcasses out of the cave before settling down at the cave entrance again. Breescha. That's what those horrifying spider monsters are called, apparently.

  Archion is obviously wide-awake now and not in any mood to sleep, but he tells me to lie down.

  "Rest," he urges. "I will keep watch."

  I nod. There isn't anything else to do.

  I settle down in my pallet, unsure about if I'll be able to get even a moment's rest that night. But eventually my heart settles down and sleep starts to knock on my door again—a welcome surprise.

  My eyes stay on Archion, his distinctively protective stance at the cave entrance the last thing I see before I fall asleep and dream of him. Not in a vision way, in a purely fantasizing way.

  He is the perfect hunter-warrior, as male as one can be. Mysterious, bold, and deadly. He makes my knees go soft. Even my dream—it's fuzzy, just a jumble of images, of his face, his eyes.

  His body.

  There's a strange juxtaposition to our attraction. The silent glances and heavy tension colliding with the softness of the flower he brought back to me. And the harshness with which he protected me.

  When I wake up the next morning, he's still on my mind. As the days have gone by, there's no denying the attraction between us. After being alone in this cave with him... Honestly, I can barely muster up the restraint needed to keep my clothes on around him.

  As if on cue, he emerges from the narrow opening on the heels of that thought, obviously fresh from the spring. I can't look away. He's gloriously, perfectly naked. Completely comfortable in his own skin. And why wouldn't he be?

  Tall, with that frame heavy with muscle, his smooth, tan skin almost glows with health. I see his back muscles flex as he stretches his wings out a little, the curve of his ass and the muscle of his thighs catching my eyes.

  I swallow, feeling my mouth water in response. I should look away. Really I should. Any moment now... I'm only human, damn it! Once he's covered up again, I look away just in time to avoid him catching me ogling him.

  "Good morning," he says, his eyes scanning my face. As if he wasn't just naked in front of me. "Are you hungry?"

  I nod, standing up. I know my cheeks are pink, but I blush so much around him at this point I'm hoping he might think my cheeks just redden randomly or something. Hey, I need to hold on to my illusions where I can.

  "I'm just going to clean up real fast," I say, looking away. I hurry over to the spring myself, trying to pretend I'm not running away.

  I have to just accept the fact that I'm going to be flushed around him ninety percent of the time. There's just no way around it. It doesn't take too long to get myself back together. I splash water on my face and give myself a firm pep talk. I'm a grown woman. I can do this.

  When I come back out, Archion is already laying out the thinly cut meat he managed to smoke to perfection. Despite my own stubbornness. Thinking back, I have no idea why I argued against him about it. He obviously has a lot more experience with smoking game meat than I do.

  When I look at the food he's put out, I see something new—a small bowl of deep red berries.

  "Oh, it looks great!" I remark as I settle down beside the food. I pick up the bowl with the berries bringing it closer so I can have a look. "What are these?"

  "Xara berries," he says, a tinge of adorable excitement in his voice. "I gathered them early this morning before you woke up. Try them—they are delicious."

  He doesn't have to tell me twice. I take a few of the smooth, round morsels. The skin is taut, the berries plump with juice. I pop one into my mouth and bite down.

  "Mmm," I hum, my eyes automatically closing as it bursts, releasing sweet juice reminiscent of the nectar from the flower he brought me yesterday. And, just like that, my thoughts return to the kiss that followed. And...there's the blush. What a surprise.

  I open my eyes to tell him they're good, but when I meet his hot gaze, I have to avert my own.

  "They're really good," I murmur, popping more into my mouth. "Thank you."

  "Of course," he murmurs. "Here, have some meat."

  I nod, taking the piece he offers and bringing it to my mouth right away too. Maybe if I keep my mouth full, I won't have to talk. Anything to avoid awkward conversation right then. Luckily, he doesn't push for more.

  We eat breakfast in a calm silence that I can really appreciate. I end up breaking the quiet myself when he stands up.

  "Where you going?" I ask as he steps towards the exit.

  "I am going to go find the cart. Stay here. I won't be long."

  The confidence in his voice eases the panic that wants to rise in my gut. I am so not equipped to be alone here on Tajss, but I trust that he wouldn't leave me here if he didn't think it was safe.

  "Be careful," I call out after him.

  He turns back to me, his gaze serious.

  "I will."

  I watch as he heads off, every cell in my body vibrating with need. Anxiety and attraction is an interesting mixture. Okay, I need to distract myself, or I might very well go crazy.

  First I tidy up the minimal mess we've made. Then I go back to the spring to take a full bath and wash the clothes I wore yesterday. Then I put on the clean ones that are dry.

  That done, I run through the moves that Archion has shown me so far, remembering how I froze the night before. I need to practice so the moves become second nature, so I don't have to think when there's a fight. Hopefully, if I practice enough, the moves will come naturally.

  Despite my best efforts to keep my mind off of how much time has passed since Archion left, I still find myself sitting down on my pallet and waiting for him towards the end. With nothing else to do, I start to flip through the notebook Penelope gave me. That's what he finds me doing when he finally returns around midday.

  I quickly tuck the
book away and get up to help him load the smoked meat into the cart. I know he noticed the book, but he doesn't comment as we work side by side. It's not like he doesn't have a billion secrets of his own.

  "Do you think we can leave for the Tribe today?" I ask as we load the last of the meat.

  "I believe so," Archion says, looking outside. "The winds have died down—"

  The distinctive sound of a meteorite hitting the ground interrupts his statement. The first is followed quickly by more of the same. When I look outside, the sand outside the cave being bombarded by meteors. We watch in silence for a moment, nonplussed.

  "However...perhaps we should wait a bit longer before returning back to your home," Archion says.

  I snort out a laugh, shaking my head. "Yeah. That's probably a good idea."

  So there we are, once again. Alone in the cavern. Well, not counting the elephant in the room, our attraction, hanging out with us.

  Archion grins at me, grabs his pack, and rummages around in it.

  "What are you looking for?" I ask, curious.

  He winks at me as he produces a flask I haven't seen before. A wine flask.

  "To help us pass the time," he says, passing it over to me.

  I raise a brow at him. "You're full of surprises," I say.

  His eyes darken. "You have no idea," he returns huskily.

  Excited and unnerved by the comment—while also being reminded of the wall of secrets that remains between us—I tip the wine flask to my mouth and take a healthy gulp. It burns down my throat. I give a small, sputtering cough, patting my chest.

  He takes the flask when I hand it back over to him, his gaze filled with admiration that I don't think the act warrants. He shakes the flask, checking the level of liquid left in it.

  "Not so soft as one would think," he murmurs, his eyes tracing my face. And then my body.

  I shiver, as his gaze traces lines of heat wherever it lands. I'm not ready to face that yet. In an effort to break the rising sexual tension, I call upon my inner nerd. A game never hurts any situation, right?

  Crouching on the cave floor, I use my finger to draw a tic-tac-toe hash mark in the dirt.

  "Do you want to play a game?" I ask, looking up at him.

  He nods, his gaze already on the impromptu mark.

  "Yes. How do we play?"

  He crouches down across from me.

  "Well, we each pick our symbol and..."

  I show him how to play. And, unsurprisingly, he picks it up immediately.

  "Ah," he says. "I understand. Would you like to go first?" Always the gentleman.

  "Sure." I start and we take turns until I make a row on the diagonal.

  "Good game," he praises me. "Again." He wins the next one. And the next one.

  Catching on to his tricks, I concentrate and fight back until we're basically evenly matched, our wins and losses averaging out to fifty-fifty. More importantly, the game succeeds in returning us to neutral ground before things go too far.

  And, luckily, we don't have to while away a whole lot more time before the meteorite shower is over. Within a few hours, Archion goes out and gives us the all clear.

  Taking the cart, he pushes it out, guiding us towards where the flaming rocks have hit the sand.

  We already loaded the meat into the compartment for the food, but the main compartment of the car is still open and ready to take the meteors and the glass that we find.

  "Stay in sight," Archion orders.

  I nod. I have no desire to be separated from him out here. We work quickly, gathering everything that will fit in the cart. I'm not sure if the glass is any different, or if any of the rocks we are able to gather are unique either. But that isn't for us to discern anyway, so I don't worry about it. By the time the cart is almost full, there isn't anything left to collect.

  "Let us try over this next dune," Archion suggests.

  I nod, wiping the sweat off my brow as we continue our arduous hike over the sand. Unfortunately, that's when the wind decides to grow rough once more. Can't we catch a break? This trip really isn't raising my opinion of the desert.

  "Let us take cover over there!" Archion calls out, trying to be heard over the wind.

  I look over to where he gestures. It's another ridge, rock curved over the top of it, with a dune on each side to buffer it. It's deep enough that it will give us more than adequate coverage. It also has the added bonus of being close enough that we don't have to abandon the cart this time. Archion pushes forward as I trudge alongside him.

  We make it in plenty of time before the sandstorm is anywhere near as severe as it was before. Setting the cart to cover the entrance in order to provide more cover, Archion turns towards me. Once again, we're alone in an enclosed space. Without anything to do. Archion's eyes meet mine, the knowledge of the situation clear in them. This time, there's nothing to be done about it. A sense of inevitability.

  We've put it off and put it off so many times that the magnetic pull between us is like a living thing, a creature that started off easy to control, but now grown so wild and strong that it’s irresistible. And how much do I really want to resist?

  I give up. I want it, want him, too badly to keep denying myself. Even as I think of surrender, I feel the heat intensify inside me.

  My skin tingles. I can feel my nipples tighten, the heat gathering low in my belly. It's like I've finally given my body permission to feel this real desire.

  As he seems to with most things, Archion senses the shift in the air.

  "Nora," he murmurs, closing the distance between us in two long strides. He doesn't wait to pull me close, wrapping his arms firmly around my waist. His eyes search my own, so close that the edges of his face are blurred.

  I slide my hands up his chest to wrap around his neck.

  That's the only signal he needs. He closes the distance between our mouths, claiming mine wantonly. The kiss is hot, deep, saturated with the desire we've both been holding back for too long.

  Oh, God.

  That kiss before had been... But this... Maybe it's because I know we're not going to stop at just a kiss this time.

  His hands slide down my back, down to my butt, gripping and squeezing. I press closer against him, going up on my toes as I feel the hard evidence of his arousal against my belly. I deliberately rub against it, feeling completely out of control. He groans at the friction, breaking the kiss to start stripping me out of my clothes.

  "I want to touch your skin," he mutters, moving quickly despite his gentle touch. Just like with everything else, he's amazingly good at getting my clothes off without any awkwardness, until I'm down to a bra and panties in front of him.

  He stops then, his eyes intent as he traces me with his gaze, lingering on my breasts, my hips, but taking all of me in.

  "You are so beautiful," he says hoarsely, reaching up with one hand to cup the soft curve of my breast.

  My breath shudders out of me as his thumb moves to rub against my hardened nipple, poking out against the cup.

  He looks up at the sound. "Good?" he asks, stopping the small movement.

  I nod, biting my lip. "Yes," I sigh. "Very good."

  He watches my face this time when he continues, his thumb rubbing deliberately.

  My eyes half close, my lips part slightly. The touch is so small, but it's Archion touching me. And because of that, it feels like so much more.

  His hand slowly slides up to my shoulder, hooking the strap of my bra. Then his other hand slides to the other strap.

  His eyes drop from my face to watch as he pulls the bra down, sliding the straps down my shoulders and arms. The cups go down with it, leaving my bra wrapped around my waist. Leaving my breasts exposed.

  I take a shuddering breath, watching his eyes as his hands move down to cup the soft weight of them. His eyes are wondering as he moves his thumbs, rubbing the hardened tips, watching his hands touch me.

  A sharp, tingling sensation flows through me at the light touch. At the look in his
eyes, the naked want.

  "You are so soft," he murmurs, squeezing me gently.

  I sigh, sliding my hands up and down his upper arms, my eyes half closing at the slow, sensual touch.

  "You should take your clothes off too," I suggest, watching him.

  He nods, but instead of moving to touch his own clothes, he slowly drops to his knees in front of me, his eyes rising to my face.

  "First you," he says, his fingers sliding around the thin sides of my panties, wrapped around my hips.

  I swallow as they linger there.

  His eyes are dark as they hold mine, the question in them clear. He's waiting for me to say yes. Waiting for me to agree we should go down this path.

  Is it smart? He's an outsider, something the Tribe Elders have made quite clear. Even apart from their suspicion of him and his intentions, he hasn't been open and honest about his background with me. So much can go wrong here. But I don't even know why I'm thinking of any of this.

  My answer is almost a foregone conclusion. I feel like this has been barreling towards us ever since Zoe transmitted that vision to me. I want him too badly to stop myself for all the practical reasons.

  "Yes," I breathe, cupping the side of his handsome face. "Yes, Archion."

  His eyes blaze even hotter as he leans forward to press his lips gently against the soft skin of my exposed belly. But he doesn't pull my panties down right away.

  He undoes the hooks of my bra strap and pulls it away from my body, his hands gentle and quick. He buries his face against my midsection for a moment, his big hands smoothing around my body to cup my butt, squeezing, kneading hard. My hands slide into his silky hair, the firm touch exactly what I wanted, the tight embrace helping me relax a little. I don't know if that's why he suddenly slowed down, if he felt my nerves. But I appreciate it either way.

  After a few moments of that warm, needy embrace, his hands slide into the sides of my underwear again. And this time, there's no teasing.

  He leans back so he can skim them down my hips, down my thighs. I lift one foot and then other, stepping out of the small scrap of fabric. Completely exposed now. Completely vulnerable to whatever Archion wants to do.